Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update

1. Architecture and Design · Language Selection

   Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.

2. Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction

   When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

OWASP Cheat Sheets

• XML Security (opens in a new tab)
• Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)

OWASP ASVS 4.0.3

• V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
• V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
• V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)

From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

1. Implementation

   Only call matching memory management functions. Do not mix and match routines. For example, when you allocate a buffer with malloc(), dispose of the original pointer with free().

2. Implementation

   When programming in C++, consider using smart pointers provided by the boost library to help correctly and consistently manage memory.

3. Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks

   Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.

From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

1. Implementation

   When allocating a buffer for the purpose of transforming, converting, or encoding an input, allocate enough memory to handle the largest possible encoding. For example, in a routine that converts "&" characters to "&" for HTML entity encoding, the output buffer needs to be at least 5 times as large as the input…

2. Implementation

   Understand the programming language's underlying representation and how it interacts with numeric calculation (CWE-681). Pay close attention to byte size discrepancies, precision, signed/unsigned distinctions, truncation, conversion and casting between types, "not-a-number" calculations, and how the language handles…

3. Implementation · Input Validation

   Perform input validation on any numeric input by ensuring that it is within the expected range. Enforce that the input meets both the minimum and maximum requirements for the expected range.

Attack patterns

• Overflow Buffers (opens in a new tab)
• Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion (opens in a new tab)

From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

1. Implementation · Input Validation

   Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.

OWASP Cheat Sheets

• XML Security (opens in a new tab)
• Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)

OWASP ASVS 4.0.3

• V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
• V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
• V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)

From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

1. Architecture and Design

   Use locking functionality. This is the recommended solution. Implement some form of locking mechanism around code which alters or reads persistent data in a multithreaded environment.

2. Architecture and Design

   Create resource-locking validation checks. If no inherent locking mechanisms exist, use flags and signals to enforce your own blocking scheme when resources are being used by other threads of execution.

OWASP Cheat Sheets

• Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)

OWASP ASVS 4.0.3

• V1.11.2 (opens in a new tab)

Attack patterns

• Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
• Leveraging Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)

From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).